How do I increase milk production

I really wanted to breastfeed my baby as wanted him to get the nutrients from breast milk. As I have flat nipples I had to use nipples shields so he’s never been wild about being on the breast. I’ve given up trying to breastfeed him now but have continued expressing but am finding now we’re nearly 4 months in that my milk production is dwindling. I’d like to continue as long as possible really but as I’m producing not as much it’s a chore. I pump 3 times a day using a hands free pump. He has mainly formula bottles but with a bottle of breast milk per day. Does anyone have any suggestions that have worked for you to help increase my milk production? TY in advance! Xx

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If you want to increase your milk supply the best way will be to increase the frequency of times you pump during the day with one of the pumping sessions ideally being between 2 and 4 am :) x

You have to pump on a strict schedule every 3 hours. Also a session very early morning usually gets a good output. Hands free pumps that you can wear outside usually don’t have the best section. You might want to try another type. Also be sure to measure your nipples to check they you’re using the correct flange size. FYI the average output combined is 1-2 ounces so if you’re not getting that much more, know that that’s ok. Some people are over suppliers and pump out 6 ounces in one session.

I echo what Isa was saying - increase the frequency of pumps (which is getting more difficult as they grow - I am struggling with this too) and fo a Power Pump between 2am and 5am or so. You can get double of tripple the amount. Power Pump being 20mins on 10 off 10mins on 10off and 10mins on. So 1hr in total. I do this very often. Good luck. Hope you find a way that works best for you.

Pump every 3 hours for 20-30mins! Milk will increase. It’s based off supply and demand x

What everyone else says but to also do more skin to skin! Wear your baby in a sling for most of the day maybe? This really helped me!

Hi Kristen, I’m just going through upping mine and what has worked for me (whilst keeping my sanity and not getting too sleep deprived) is pumping 4 times a day for about 20-25 each time and also one round of power pumping in the evening when watch tv for about 4 days. I do breastfeed my daughter in the night, so I don’t pump then, but if you formula feed at night, it might be worth picking one of their feed times to also pump. At the moment I’m not power pumping because I’ve seen an increase, so just pumping 4/5 times for 20/25 minutes. One bit of good advice I got was to pump for a couple of minutes after milk stops coming out, but because that’s the bit that tells your body to make more and for me that’s 20-25 minutes but for you it might be a different length of time. X

Thank you so much everyone!! Really useful advice! Xx

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